China Cha Dao

As many forum members have noticed, I have a rather low regard for the quality of tea and teaware generally made available to westerners from mainland China. I also mistrust the majority of vendors selling these items, especially on sites like EBay. However, I also know that China was one of the greatest cultural and arts centers in the world prior to 1947, and that there still remain in China some tea and teaware producers who care about their arts and are not driven strictly by profits. I will support these vendors, artists, manufacturers, and craftsmen on the rare occasion when I am actually able to find them.

Thanks to some postings and comments by Zensuji, I decided to purchase a high-end Jingdezhen gaiwan from Jerry Ma at China Cha Dao. I have always felt that modern Jingdezhen products were over-rated. I have never owned a Jing De gaiwan that had a decent lid fit or that poured properly. I hoped I would have better luck using this vendor. I'm happy to say I did.

Although not perfect as far as lid fit, this is by far the best Jingdezhen gaiwan I have owned. The lid fits better than any other I have tried and the pour into a pitcher is quite good. This product is supposed to be 100% hand-made so I don't expect perfect lid fit. The porcelain appears to be of a very high grade and is quite thin and light for it's 200ml size. It does a fantastic job with Chinese greens and also worked very well with Keemun Gift Grade red tea from Jing Tea Shop.

The painting on the gaiwan is another story. It is so absolutely perfect that I initially thought it was transfer printing with some areas hand-painted. However, closer inspection failed to show anything definite that would prove this was not painted by hand. Some online research led me to a company that distributes Chinese teaware, including items with the same seal. They clearly state that these are hand-made and hand painted. If in fact it isn't, I believe the vendor would have been unaware of this based on the comments from the distributor. If it is 100% hand painted, the artist is a true master of his craft. This gaiwan is absolutely gorgeous, even more so than shown in the vendors pictures. Either way, it's a keeper and will not be returned.

While searching online, I did find the "normal" version of this design on a regular teaset. Although very nice, this gaiwan is a mile ahead in it's execution of the artwork. The vendor had stated this was a special hand-painted version for the Year of the Tiger and it is, indeed, very special when compared to the standard version.

I am extremely particular when purchasing teaware and related cultural products, especially those from China. I will definitely add Jerry Ma and China Cha Dao to my very short list of trusted vendors from the mainland. Everything was exceptional including the packaging and I appreciate those forum members who recommended this vendor.

These comments are based on one purchase, but I will soon be placing a second order and I have no second thoughts about doing so.

Edit: This also came in a very high quality traditional cloth-covered box that was not mentioned in the product description. This was an added bonus I didn't expect.

Then on Cha dao I saw a gaiwan with them on "The Eight Immortals" Jin De Zhen Gaiwan 150ml Tea JC07

equally important his product information had accompanying notes that saved me a lot of research

The Eight Immortals (Baxian) are a group of legendary xian (immortals = fairies) in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals". Most of them are said to have been born in the Tnag Dynasty or Song Dynasty. They are revered by the Toaists, and are also a popular element in the secular Chinese culture. They are said to live on a group of five islands in the Bohai Sea which includes Penglai Mountain Island.

The tradition of depicting humans who have become immortals is an ancient practice in Chinese art, and when religious Taoism gained popularity, it quickly picked up this tradition with its own immortals. While cults dedicated to various Taoist immortals date back to the Han Dynasty, the popular and well known Eight Immortals first appeared in the Jin dynasty. The art of the Jin tombs of the 12th and 13th centuries depict a group of eight Taoist immortals in wall murals and sculptures. They officially became known as the Eight Immortals in the writings and works of art of the Taoist sect known as the Complete Realization (Quanshen). The most famous art depiction of the Eight Immortals from this period is a mural of them in the Eternal Joy Temple (Yongle Gong) at Ruicheng.

The Eight Immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient art. They were frequent adornments on celadon vases. They were also common in sculptures owned by the nobility. Their most common appearance, however, was in paintings. Many silk paintings, wall murals, and wood block prints remain of the eight immortals. They were often depicted either together in one group, or alone to give more homage to that specific immortal.

An interesting feature of early Eight Immortal artwork is that they are often accompanied by jade hand maidens, commonly depicted servants of the higher ranked deities, or other images showing great spiritual power. This shows that early on the Eight Immortals quickly became eminent figures of the Taoist religion, and had great importance. We can see this importance is only heightened in the Ming dynasties and Qing dynasties. During these dynasties, the Eight Immortals are very frequently associated with other prominent spiritual deities in artwork. There are numerous paintings with them and the Three Stars (the gods of longevity, emolument, and good fortune) together. Also, other deities of importance, such as the Queen Mother of the West, are commonly seen in the company of the Eight Immortals.

Zensuji wrote:Very pleased you like it. I have to say when you dived straight in at the deep end I was very much hoping your experience matched mine .

It took getting a lot of average gaiwans off a lot of vendors before I stumped upon cha dao gaiwans so I'm glad that the leg work has been passed on.

Its an incredible piece....just amazing

It was largely due to your input that I decided to try this vendor, especially the comment that if there was a problem, it would be taken care of.

I have most of my gaiwans packed up and stored, with the majority of the rest heading there to join the other mediocre ones. Others were given away with no regrets (sorry, I'm not giving this one away)! I'll be using this Jingdezhen, the Taiwanese one from Naivetea, the Dehua set and hopefully the one I just ordered from Jerry Ma. That was half the price, but I noticed that all of his gaiwans get good feedback ratings, including some very low-priced ones.

I wondered what happened to that one! Very good choice. I was contemplating making that my second purchase. I was actually glad to see it gone, as it was more than I wanted to spend so soon after purchasing the tiger gaiwan. You save me about $60! Seriously, I think that one is a great piece. I like the Eight Immortals theme and I thought this one was very nicely done. I hope you're as satisfied with your purchase from this vendor as I was. I think you will be!

IPT wrote:That is a very beautiful gaiwan. It is hard to find really nice looking tiger tea ware.

Gaiwan lids are not supposed to have a perfect fit. If the lids have a perfect fit, they would seal and it would be very difficult to pour tea out of them.

Thanks! I agree it is extremely difficult finding good tiger-ware.

That's a good point that others have also made. However, some of my previous gaiwans were so bad in this regard that I refused to use them. This one seems like a good compromise between a decent lid fit and an acceptable pour.

britt wrote: I wondered what happened to that one! ............. Seriously, I think that one is a great piece. I like the Eight Immortals theme and I thought this one was very nicely done. I hope you're as satisfied with your purchase from this vendor as I was. I think you will be!

Sorry to thwart you

But as you can see from my 2nd entry on Bei Dou Yi Hao, themes can be expensive, I now have to consider, getting some Ba Xian screens, not to mention a few Ba Xian oolongs